Paris Sketches: A Discovery of Color
by ClarinetQT
Summary: When Allison has to chose between band and popularity she finds friends, love, and something to believe in where she least expects it. Finished
1. Overture

The whole point of marching band is to put on a spectacular show and make it look like you're not trying very hard. You march around in different formations with a funny feather hat on your head trying to remember music notes and which way to turn next. Or at least that was what it looked like to me. My father played clarinet in high school. Every football season he would get out old tapes of his marching band and make the whole family watch them. I, being an cheerleader, didn't think much of these feathered headed geeks. They always yelled about the athletes that they were, out on the field in the middle of August for hours at a time. Ah, band camp. Ten hours a day for two weeks of pain, sweat, and yelling section leaders. Before I reached high school, I made fun of this horrid schedule with my cheerleading friends. How could anyone put themselves through that? How could anyone go that long without wearing any make-up? Well the summer of freshmen year I was forced to find out.  
  
My parents, more that anything, wanted to see me in that horrid uniform. I had been playing clarinet as long as I had been cheerleading, since the fourth grade. I made them a deal. I would march in the fall if they allowed me to cheer in the winter. Thankfully, they agreed. I ended up making JV cheerleading even thought I was only a freshmen. I was very pleased. My parents, on the other hand, were much more impressed with the fact that I made third chair in Symphonic Band, the second highest band out of the three. I was the highest of the freshmen. Concert band had not been that bad. I really did enjoy playing, it was just that I hated giving up cheerleading to do marching band of all things.  
  
Frost High School had only been open for three years. Everything in the school was spectacular. It seemed like all 3,000 students had something to show for themselves. State football, boys track, baseball, and softball champions last year, regional girls tracks, soccer, and tennis last year, a Superior choir and theatre arts program, and 309 honor students with a 3.7 GPA or higher. There were clubs for everything imaginable - debate, cooking, Latin dance, ping-pong. You name it. The school had made a name for itself in a very short period of time. The colors of gold and black spread throughout the county proudly. Everything was doing well. Everything, except the marching band.  
  
Well freshmen year I marched and I played in concert band and I tried out for districts and I participated in Solo and Ensemble. I always learned my part and even challenged from time to time. I did everything that was expected of me. In fact, I even ended up lettering. But as I walked down the hallways on Friday afternoons in my cheerleading uniform, you would never guess that I would be spending the night in a shako and Dinkles playing stand tunes. My friends never brought up the fact that I was in the band and most people didn't even know I was ever in it to begin with. I didn't hang out in the band room in the morning, I didn't stay after the games for the parties at the school, I didn't go to the movie or bowling events the boosters put together, and I didn't walk into the homecoming dance in step with my friends.  
  
I thought I was making the right choice. I thought that dumping the geeks to hang out the perfect blondes and their strong, football playing boyfriends would make me happy. But as it got closer and closer to spring, the time for fall sport try-outs, the more I doubted the loyalty of my musically challenged friends.  
  
In the spring of that year I tried out for cheerleading and a concert band. I was the youngest girl to ever make the Varsity cheerleading squad. I was also fourth chair in Wind Symphony, still the highest of my class. The first chair, senior Andrew Murray, was the drum major. A typical tall, dark, and handsome, Mr. I-Know-Everything-Don't-Mess-With-Me drum major. His brown haired, straight-A, striking smiling girlfriend Lily Jackson, also a senior, was second chair and section leader for marching band. The third chair was a junior and the other clarinet section leader, Ryan Palmer. Ryan looked more like a pro soccer player with his skinny, fast looking body and strong leg muscles. He was smart too. He took a lot of AP classes with an astonishing 4.1 GPA to go with it. The sparkle in his eyes, however, was lost on the marching band field behind his gruff attitude and unmerciful words to anyone who was out of step. Lily's gentle touch was needed to round out the feeling of the section.  
  
It had always been a pretty big band. We gained about 20 members every year. It was expected that we would march about 150 winds with about 15 color guard members. However, we never met that goal. The freshmen interest in marching band exceeded everyone's wildest dreams. We ended up with 170 winds, 20 pit and drumline members, and 30 color guard members for a grand total of 220 marching band members. We were the second biggest marching band in the county following closely behind George Washington High School with 230 members. The amount of members was scary. But it wasn't nearly as scary as our piece. It wasn't the normal movie themed show that we had done in past years. No one had ever heard of it.  
  
All summer the band geeks thought of the new show. Questions of what would make in the grade 6 show everyone was talking about, how hard the music would be, and would it be the awarding winning show everyone had always dreamed of. As I spent the summer with the cheerleaders, I must admit that I too was wondering the same thing. I was also wondering how in the world I was going to survive another marching season, especially with Ryan Palmer as section leader.  
  
As I sat tanning at the pool, (not that it really matter because I would be browned nicely at band camp complete with sock tans and all) I was just another underclassmen dismissing my fears of the upcoming school year for the summer. I had no idea that a few miles down the road, the marching band staff had already settled on a name for the show, Paris Sketches: A Discovery of Color. I had no idea that they had already written drill, picked out color guard costumes, planned movie nights, signed us up for competitions, and dry cleaned the uniforms. More importantly, I, Allison McAlister, had no idea the summer of sophomore year would change my life.

Forever.


	2. Movement One: Registration

"But this is like THE party of the year! We're talking SENOIRS!!" Jenny yelled at me through the phone.  
  
Jenny was the other sophomore on the varsity cheerleading squad. The captain, Leah was having a huge End-of-the-Year party at the country club that evening. It was an open house for all seniors and varsity cheerleaders.  
  
"I know, I know! I want to go! Really I do, it's just..." my voice trailed off as I applied another layer of lip gloss.  
  
"It's just what??" Jenny's voice sounded impatient. "Tell me! Do you have, like, major bad hair or something? I'm sure it can be fixed!"  
  
"No it's not that... Tonight is marching band registration. I have to go."  
  
"Marching band what?! You go, you sign up, you leave! And you come to Leah's party! If you don't, I'll be the youngest one there!"  
  
"No! It's not like that! If it was, I wouldn't even go! I'd get my mom to go for me or something. It's this huge thing. All the parents go and order uniforms and spirit wear while the band kids have a rehearsal in the auditorium. It's a time to catch up with everyone and met the rookies."  
  
"Met the rookies? My god, Alli! Can't you just fake sick or something?"  
  
"Look Jenny, I just can't get out of this. I promise you'll have my full attention when this is over. Work with me please!"  
  
"Alright! Fine!"  
  
"I just -" I said to the dial tone. Jenny had already hung up. She'd get over it. She always did. It wasn't like anyone, except her, was going to miss me. I looked at myself in the mirror one last time before heading out the door for the high school. Black sophie shorts, pink tank top, pink flip flops, hair in a ponytail. As always this was a good as it was going to get.  
  
I got to the Frost cafeteria just as everyone else was arriving. As I had described to Jenny, everyone was using this time to catch up. There were seniors who couldn't believe they were finally in their last year. Juniors who couldn't believe they were finally upperclassmen. Sophomores who couldn't believe they were no longer freshmen. And freshmen who couldn't believe they were actually in high school. And I was in the middle of it looking around for a familiar face. In the very back I saw my two best friends waving at me. I rushed back to sit with them.  
  
"Hey Alli! You didn't go to that party!!" My best friend Lola Sakole said smiling at me.  
  
Lola was a short, slender, brown haired, sophomore girl who played trumpet and loved every minute of it. She too was in Wind Symphony and was very proud of the fact that she was the only female trumpet to have made it. Next to band, boys were her favorite topic of conversation. It seemed like she had a new boyfriend with each passing week. Her stories never got old though. I loved listening to them because I never had much experience with boys. She was known for her gossip that was usually true and her expert flirting skills.  
  
"Oh man Lola! I totally would have gone to that party! Two words: Senior guys!" my other best friend Scarlet Jones said rolling her eyes.  
  
Scarlet was a tall, blonde, supermodel looking girl who played saxophone in Wind Symphony. She was a very deep person who often thought things all the way through before opening her mouth. This was a skill that I had yet to prefect. The thing I liked most about her was that she always seemed to be able to come up with a plan to get out of a sticky situation.  
  
"Oh you guys! I would never pick hot senior boys over you two!" I told them smiling.  
  
"But you don't really mean that," a voice came from behind us, "Now I, on the other hand, really would chose band over "hot" senior boys. All the hot senior boys are right her with me."  
  
That voice belonged to Lily, I would know it anywhere. She, Andrew, and Sean came over to greet us. Sean played trombone and was Scarlet's boyfriend of two weeks now. Scarlet had been through a lot of boyfriends in her day, but Sean was defiantly a keeper. He was about the same height as her and was know for speaking slowly but thinking fast. He too had perfected the art of coming up with plans at the last minute.  
  
"You're not missing anything," Andrew assured me, "It's not a senior party. It's a party for all the senior jocks and cheerleaders and people who are not fortunate enough for have a band practice to go to."  
  
We all laughed at his comment. Sean was just about to launch into a story about how his little brother got his head stuck in a canoe during his vacation, when Mrs. McBride cleared her throat into the microphone to get everyone's attention.  
  
"Welcome, everyone, to another marching band season! This year will bring on new and exciting challenges for everyone! First I would like to begin by congratulating our first four year graduating class. Will the seniors please stand?" The seniors stood proudly with cheesy smiles on their faces. "Thank you, thank you, and a warm welcome to all the new freshmen. Will the freshmen please stand?" Unlike the seniors, the freshmen stood uneasily, looking very unsure of themselves. "I'm sure they will bring great new beginnings to the band. For those of you who don't know me, I am Mrs. McBride, the director of bands here at Frost High School. I would also like to take this time to introduce to you our associate director, Mr. Mather. This year, we will be trying something a little different. Because of our wonderful new drill and music writer, Mr. Kester, we were not doing our traditional movie themed show. This year we will be putting Pairs Sketches by Martin Ellerby on the field. With 220 marchers and a brand new, original show idea, a great staff, and a wonderful program, I'm sure we will be able to bring the spectacular city of Paris to life! This is our year, I just know it."  
  
The place went nuts. Every year Mrs. McBride would end her opening speech with 'this is our year, I just know it.' However, unlike the previous years, the excitement in the cafeteria was overwhelming. Already, the year had started with a twist. It was now time for all the winds to go the auditorium for the first time as a band. I followed them all in step with Scarlet and Lola.  
  
"Allison! Wait up!"  
  
I turned to see two goofy looking juniors come up behind me. I had known them both since middle school. Kevin Rogers, with his messy brown hair and big brown eyes, wrapped his arms around me in a huge hug. I almost toppled over.  
  
"Get off her dude! She has to breathe you know!" Jimmy O'Sullivan said smiling.  
  
But as soon as Kevin let me go, Jimmy picked me up and spun me around. Lola glared at me. He was her crush for this week. I couldn't help what they did. I hadn't seen the boys all summer and was very glad to be with them again. When my girlfriends have too much drama in their lives, I always go find the boys.  
  
"Well what do we have here?" Ryan said surprising us all. "The band's own personal cheerleader... I heard there was a senior party the country club. I see you didn't go."  
  
"Ryan..." Jimmy started. All the boys were very close friends with Ryan but for some reason I never got along well with him.  
  
"No Jimmy, it's okay," I said trying to avoid a scene and then turning to Ryan, "I'm here, aren't I? And if I do recall correctly, I am your biggest competition..."  
  
My girlfriends and I then walked off before Ryan could say anything else.  
  
"That was kind of boastful of you," Lola began.  
  
"Well I am only one chair behind him!" I told her hotly.  
  
"Yah but you're only rising to his level when you compete with him like that," Scarlet pointed out.  
  
"Whatever," I said again trying to avoid and fight, "I'm sure I'll have many more chances to come up with snappy come backs to use on Ryan. Now are we hear to make some music or not?"  
  
The band set itself up to on the stage to play Pairs Sketches for the first time as a band. As I sat there listening to our show music, I could really feel it. In a way, I was glad that I wasn't that party. I didn't know it then but this was the beginning of something bigger than marching band. It was the beginning of something that would go down in the history of Frost High School. It was something that I had never expected would happen in the forgotten world of marching band. No one was ready for it. Not me, not my friends, not Ryan, not even Andrew.  



	3. Movement Two: Band Camp

I rolled out of bed the next morning with thoughts of the day ahead. It was hot and humid just like any other day in mid-August. But unlike the others, today was the first day of The Frosh High School Marching Band's Band Camp. I pulled on a spaghetti strap shirt and sophie shorts. Then I tied my shoes, pulled my hair into a ponytail, grabbed my clarinet and water, and rushed out the door. When I got to the high school, I ran into Jake, the quarterback of the varsity football team. He waved to me. I, gracefully as I am, stopped dead in my tracks. Finally, I got the strength to wave back. Oh my gawd... he's coming over here! I thought.  
  
"Hey," he said, "what are you here for."  
  
He, of course, was starting football practice. I wanted to lie. I wanted to tell him that I was here for cheerleading practice and that I couldn't wait to see him at the games. In the end, I just wanted him to think I was cool. I opened my mouth to lie.  
  
"I'm here for marching band camp," I said in a rush. What? Brain! Why did you say that?! I thought biting my lower lip.  
  
"You're in band?" Jake asked looking confused. "I thought you cheered."  
  
"She does!" Jimmy yelled running up behind me. Where in the world did he come from? "She's hot! You should see her! But in the fall she marches with us and she's damn good at that too! Girl of many talents, our Miss. McAlister is!"  
  
I stood there like stone absorbing Jimmy's comment while he stood there looking cool as a cucumber.  
  
"Yes, I can see that. I'll see you around Allison." Jake said with a wink.  
  
As soon as he was gone I turned to hug Jimmy who was now looked very pleased with himself.  
  
"Come on you guys! We gotta get down to the field before the directors do!" Andrew yelled at us with a smile.  
  
I stood at attention on the practice field as Lily and Ryan handed out drill sheets. I, for the second year in a row, was drill spot number 22. We spent the next 4 hours learning the first four pages of the drill. Tedious as it was, I felt very content on that field in the heat with sweat dripping down my neck. On Friday, the last day of the first week, Mr. Kester had some unexpected news.  
  
"We're going to the parade," he said slowly.  
  
"The parade?" chorused many voices. We never went to the parade. It didn't really have a name. Some people called it the Back-To-School Parade, but most people just called it The Parade. Basically, all the bands in the county marched, which was six. There were seven bands in the county but including Frost, but in our four years of existence, we hadn't gone yet. There were also a collection of different floats and the parade was always followed by a barbeque.  
  
Mrs. McBride looked out at her uneasy looking marching band. "We stunk last year," she said with confidence. "I told you this is our year. We are going to show up at that parade and show what we got. Marching band's use this time to show off! Then people will come to the shows!" She paused for a moment and let all that sink in. "Understand rubber bands?"  
  
The field was silent.  
  
"Well we better get working on our parade marching!" Mr. Kester said proudly and lined us all up in rows of five to begin.

**AN: Alright 3 chapters later I am finally going somewhere with this story... Next chapter: The Parade! Good Stuff! Sorry this one is so short. Next one will be longer. Please R&R! xoxo**


	4. Movement Three: The Parade

Why the marching bands had to be at the parade site 3 hours before it actually began was beyond me. Even Mrs. McBride was complaining about it. The clock on the wall in the band room read 7:00 am as I stood there zipping up my spenders. It was way too hot for the wool uniforms. I sat down on the floor to tie my Dinkles and as I watched Sean take a very long time to zip up the back of Scarlet's uniform. Scarlet seemed to be enjoying it. I pulled on my jacket as well and attempted to zip up the back on my own. Usually I ask Jimmy but Lola was deep in conversation with him and I thought it would be heartless of me to draw any of his attention away from her. At that moment I felt a hand pull the zipper easily and then got down my neck to snap it.  
  
"Putting on a marching band uniform is only fun if you have a cute guy to zip you up!" Sean teased me.  
  
I turned to see who it was. When I did, Sean burst out laughing. "Ryan!" I yelled.  
  
"What?" he said. "You looked like you needed help and I was there so I helped."  
  
The two of us then turned to Jimmy and said together, "Wanna be my bus buddy?"  
  
"Um, actually guys, I was going to sit by Lola," he said sheepishly.  
  
I ended up sitting next to Ryan in silence for a half hour as we drove down the road the parade site. Suddenly, my cell phone rang to the tune to the second movement of the show.  
  
"Allison McAlister," I answered.  
  
"Hey Allison, this is Jake," the quarterback's voice said sweetly. "A bunch of us were going to the movie after school on Friday. I was wondering if you wanted to come... you know, be my date?"  
  
"Friday? Like right after school?" I said shooting a look at Ryan. There was and optional rehearsal for people who needed help passing off their music. Ryan wanted me to come because I had the best tone in the section and knew the music inside and out.  
  
"Go," Ryan whispered, "Lily and I can handle it. Andrew can help too."  
  
"Okay, Jake. I'll meet you by the um..." I said grinning at Ryan.  
  
"By the gym," Jake finished. "That's great! I'll see you then!"  
  
He hung up. I sat there grinning like Christmas had come a month early. When I finally came back down to Earth I told my friends what had happened and thanked Ryan once again. Within minutes we were at the parade site.  
  
It was about 120 degrees outside that day. Well not really. It was more like 98 but in a wood marching band uniform it felt like the Earth was getting closer to the sun with each passing minute. The 1000 or so marchers from various schools in the district stood around sweating like pigs waiting for instructions. Several marchers came over to tell Andrew what a horrible marching band he had or the say that we would probably be the middle band in the lineup. It was terribly insulting to be the band that marched in the middle. The best band always went last to end on a good note. And the other fairly good marching bands went first to begin the parade well. All the stinky bands were put in the middle. Because of our lack of experience, we were dead center in the parade line up. Directly behind the local cops on horses. I stood at parade rest wondering why the cops couldn't ride in their cars. Cars didn't poop. Andrew walked beside his band with his head held high as if the morning's comment did not affect him at all when the George Washington drum major came over to him. It was common knowledge that GW was one of the best marching bands in the country. They were 7 times state champions and had been going last in the parade since it began. They even got accepted to the regional Bands of America marching festival in New Jersey this year. It was the first time in 35 years that a band from Virginia had ever been accepted to a marching Bands of America festival. A lot of the bands had seen a concert band festival but to make it in on marching band was a true accomplishment.  
  
"Don't worry about those band dorks, Murray," the GW drum major said. "It will be a pleasure to compete with you guys today. I look forward to the day when I see this band on a BOA marching band field."  
  
With a smile on his face the GW drum major returned to his band. Andrew looked at me. "Well you're the one who told me to go out for drum major in the first place. I probably wouldn't have the strength to be here with you knowing you and Lily and now the GW drum major believe in me. Would you like to call the band to attention right before we march off?"  
  
The look on my face must have showed my excitement because he smiled and said "okay" and the marched off to take his position at the front of the band. I saw color guard flags go up way in front of and the first band was called to attention. A cadence began the first band was off. 7 floats, 3 marching bands, and 1 set of cops later, it was our turn. The color guard flags of Frost High School went up and I took a deep breath.  
  
"BAND TENT HUT!" I yelled loudly in my Someday-I'm-Going-To-Be-Drum- Major voice.  
  
"HUT!" the band yelled back as they all snapped to attention.  
  
"MARK TIME MARK!" Andrew's voice came from the front of the band. After 8 counts of silence he yelled again. "FORWARD MARCH!"  
  
The cadence began and the band was off. 7 pot holes, and 6 run- throughs of the second movement of Pairs Sketches later, we reached the end of the parade and stopped for a drink of water with the other marching bands. Mr. Kester then pulled us aside to speak to us without everyone else hearing.  
  
"What in the world was that?" he asked us. We all flinched. I didn't think it was that bad. "Because that was not the band I heard in practice. That was not the "excellent" band that we get rated as every year. That was spectacular. That was breath-taking. That was... superior."  
  
"So we didn't suck?" Jimmy asked loudly.  
  
"No you didn't suck," Mrs. McBride said with a smile. "Now let's go back to the parade site to listen for awards."  
  
We stood in a tight group as we waited for results and awards. Andrew kept opening and closing his mouth like he wanted to say something. Finally he gave up and just sat there with a cheesy grin on his face.  
  
"If you looked any cheesier, they'd roll you up, and sell you at a deli!" Lily teased her boyfriend.  
  
"Well at least he's not a big ham!" Jimmy shot back. Andrew blushed but there was fire in his eyes that said nothing to tear him apart now. The rest of us just sat there groaning at Jimmy's lame comment. Just then the announcer came on.  
  
"What an amazing parade we've seen today! The scores have never been this close! In third place with a rating of 89.8: Lakeland High School!" The band went nuts. We cheered politely. Even though we had done well according to the staff, we knew we hadn't placed. Our highest score ever was an 83.8. Only wonderful marching bands got close to the 90's this early in the season. "And in second place with a rating of 90.4: Frost High School!" There was a pause. Those words seem to hang in the air. A roar of applause came from where George Washington High was standing. We never got a chance to clap for ourselves because we were too busy hugging, giving high 5's, and crying. "First place with a rating of 91.0: George Washington High School!"

The moment was too perfect. We cheered for the band we had admired for some many years. The perfect band, with the perfect lines and perfect intervals. We were not even a point away from that band. It was unbelievable. Andrew gave the GW drum major and firm hand shake followed by giving Lily a movie star kiss. Sean did the same to Scarlet.  
  
"We didn't suck!" Jimmy yelled loudly while hugging Lola.  
  
"We didn't just not suck! We didn't lose! Maybe we'll even win a competition!" Andrew said grinning.  
  
Maybe we were just caught up in the moment. Maybe we shouldn't have read too much into it. We just won the little parade competition. We were still just the new marching band that had never won anything. But that day something changed. A spirit grew in the marching band. It was a spirit that we needed to be great. Even if we never won a competition ever again, the only thing that was important now is that we felt like a team. Together we worked hard through the sweat and the pain. Together we came dressed in our stilly shakos ready to go. Together we made up not only a marching band, but a group of very close friends who believed in the impossible.

**A/N: I hope everyone liked this one. It was on the long side. The next chapter is gonna be kinda short but important. R&R! xoxo**


	5. Movement Four: Monday Morning

The Monday after a Saturday competition always brings excitement to the band hallway. Everyone is always talking about the day's events. Most of it was chatter of the silly things people said, who was caught kissing on the bus on the way home when it was dark, or how someone marched off with only one Dinkle. I was never apart of this chatter. It always took place in the band room during the half hour period we had before the first bell rang. The band room was the place to be, to hang out. If you weren't there, you weren't a band geek. Since I was a cheerleader, I was expected to meet the girls by The Wall, about a few feet away from the concrete area by the door that led into the band room from the outside. As I made my way over there that morning, I found myself looking at the door wishing I could be apart of whatever was going on in there. I had never experienced. I went a few times freshmen year but I never really fit in. Over the course of the year I made more and more band friends. Now that it was the second week of school, I was beginning to wonder if I really belonged with the blonde, short-skirt wearing, nail painting, preps of the school. But seeing Jake's smiling face forced me to push the thoughts out of my mind. I smiled back and walked over to be with them. Leah was standing there too, putting on sparkly lip gloss as a group of freshmen girls gawked at her, wishing they could be like her.  
  
"Hey cutie," Jake said sweetly, "I'm really looking forward to Friday."  
  
Before I could answer, Jenny came up behind me and threw her arms around my waist.  
  
"Oh my god! Congratulations!" she squealed at me. "I can't believe you didn't call me after the parade! It was sooo close, but you were sooo good! I'm sooo happy you guys finally won something! And it was sooo close to GW's score!"  
  
"What in the world are you talking about, Jenny?" Leah asked looking as though Jenny's outburst was not acceptable.  
  
"The Parade! They came in second!" Jenny said. "We were there, remember?"  
  
"Oh right, whatever," Leah said smirking. "Girls, can I have you attention please? I have big new!"  
  
All the cheerleaders ended their conversations and turned to Leah as if whatever she had to say was more important than anything else in the world. Leah flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder and continued.  
  
"As you all know, I sent in a tape of us to the National Cheerleader Society or the NCS. I am very pleased to announce that we have been accepted! This is a great honor because we will be competing with the best squads on the east coast. If we place will we continue through two semi final rounds. Then we will move on to a grand championship for all the high school cheerleading squads in the country in San Diego. For now, ladies, I just want you to worry about the first elimination round on Saturday, October 9. That is exactly one month from tomorrow so we need to get down working quickly. Also, Allison, this is a team effort. You will be expected to be apart of the competition because if we place, this could go well into basketball season. Our extra practices have been scheduled around your, um, band practices. Here is your uniform which you may wear to school on game days."  
  
She handed me a copy of the schedule and my uniform as the other girls clapped politely for me. It felt really awkward. The bell rang for first period just as Leah had finished handing out schedules to everyone else.  
  
I spent the rest of the day worrying. I knew that it was a great honor to be accepted to this competition. It was almost like BOA. With all cheerleading and marching band practice, it was going to be really hard to keep up with my school work. I was really worried about what my friends would say because I would be hanging out with the cheerleaders more often. Then I remembered the first game was on Friday so I would have to keep an eye on the time while at the movies with Jake. Oh! The game! I would have to wear my cheerleading uniform to school. I couldn't wear the uniform. The section was counting on me to wear my Pairs Sketches shirt with blue jeans and my Dinkles. Lily had even made black ribbons for all the girls that said our name and graduation year on one side and "clarinetees" on the other side with sparkly gold glitter. I had to wear my marching band pride outfit. There was just no question about it. We had been doing this ever since the school opened. The marching band was the most spirited group in the school, not to mention the biggest. I wasn't sure what I was going to do. Well, I guess things couldn't get much worse. All I knew was I had to figure something out. And I didn't have much time. 


	6. Movement Five: Wednesday Night Practice

Wednesday night practices were famous at Frost. Unlike like our other practices, on Tuesday and Thursday, Wednesday practices were held in the evening from 6:30 to 9. It was very exciting because we got to practice the show on the football field under the lights instead of in the parking lot. Everyone was looking forward to it. It was the second one of the year. Plus, McBride said she had some big new which made everyone even more anxious. I walked down to the field with Lola. She was telling me about Jimmy who finally asked her out. So she had Jimmy, Scarlet had Sean, and I was dateless. Again. I wouldn't have felt so bad if homecoming wasn't coming up. It wasn't too bad last year because none of us had dates so we just talked a few guy friends into going and we went as a group. This year I was feeling a little awkward. I thought it was about time I got a boyfriend. I did have until October 17th to get a homecoming date though... However, there were more important matters at hand. I hadn't told anyone about the cheerleading competition. I wasn't sure what was holding me back but I thought it was best to not say anything until I figured out was I was going to do.  
  
When we got to the field we all stood at attention in our block waiting for direction. Mr. Kester stepped out on the field and spoke.  
  
"The show is good." He said firmly. That could have meant about 50 million different things. "But this show, ladies and gentlemen, is not about sets. It is about the movement between the sets. This is Paris Sketches, not Paris Pictures. Sketches are the light movements of the brush on the paper bringing the true meaning of the art to life. You're pictures are wonderful. But the judges don't have drill charts in front of them. So if you stink up the pictures but your intervals, lines, and marching style is perfect, no one will care. This isn't to say you can have bad pictures but today you will focus on your marching style. Today you will bring the colors of Paris to life!"  
  
After an hour of marching, I think we brought out the colors of Paris to Mr. Kester liking. It was then that Mrs. McBride called us all in to stand around the drum major podium for the "big news."  
  
"As you all know, our performance at the parade was spectacular." She paused for a moment to let that sink in. "One of the judges was so pleased with our performance that he came to our practice yesterday. He spoke to with me earlier today and commented on how well we are doing so early in the season. It's like a new band this year. He said...." Her voice slowed down and she took a deep breath, "he said that he could pull a few strings and get us into the Band of America marching festival in New Jersey on October 9."  
  
The field was silent of a fraction of a section before everyone started talking at once. What and honor this was. Would we be good enough? Was our show jazzy enough? No one could believe it. A thousand thoughts were running through my mind at the same time. It was all just too perfect. McBride called the band to attention, promised details soon, and then allowed us to go. I walked back to the band room alone, still deep in the thought. Suddenly, all my excitement flushed out of my body. October 9th... That was the day of the NCS competition... This could get ugly.

**AN: Two short chapters this time. I hope you all liked them. There won't be any up-dates for a while because I'm going out of town. But I'll be writing and I'll put up a nice long chapter when I get back. R&R! xoxo**


	7. Movement Six: Friday Spirit

**AN - Hey all! Sorry I haven't updated in a while. But here's a really long chapter for you. Also I know it's a little late to be pointing this out but I did not make up Paris Sketches. It's a real show that my band did last year. Also, Bands of America is real too. I did however make up the cheerleader competition and the high schools. Enjoy the story! R&R! xoxo**

"Louie Louie! OH NO! You gotta go!" I sang loudly as I tied the clarinetee ribbon in my hair that Friday morning. The air was crisp, the leaves were changing colors, and the smell of football season was in air. I loved the school day of the first football game of the season.

"Allison!" my mother yelled up the stairs. "Not everyone gets up at five am for high school! You're going to wake up the whole neighborhood! Don't worry, they'll hear the song tonight at the game!

I grinned and began to hum a section of the show instead. At 5:37 I walked out the door with my Dinkles clicking on the sidewalk and the wind blowing through my Paris Sketches shirt.

When I got to the school I looked over at the cheerleaders and then down at myself. I was so excited about getting into BOA and tonight's game that I completely forgot about what they would think if they saw me in my marching band spirit wear. Without thinking I headed in the direction of the one place I could go to no matter how hard things got. The Band Room.

I walked in for the first time that year expecting to feel uncomfortable. Instead, I was greeted by Scarlet and Lola who couldn't believe that I had come. We sat down and they both instantly began talking about tonight's game. I tried to enjoy the atmosphere but it was too difficult with my worries of cheerleading and my date with Jake that afternoon. However, when the day finally ended and I met Jake outside the gym all my worried faded away.

"Change of plans babe," he said, "we're going to Leah's house instead of the theatre. That cool? Don't worry, there'll be other people there." I nodded, a little unsure if that would be a good idea. When we got there I was relieved to find Jenny there with her boyfriend who played JV football and was also a sophomore. Leah put in a romantic movie, turned out the lights, and promptly began frenching with a boy I didn't recognize. As I sat against Jake's warm body I became very aware of the fact that he was a boy. A senior boy. Suddenly, I began to feel a little uncomfortable. Every couple in the room, which was about eight, was making out, except for Jenny and her boyfriend who looked like they were actually watching the movie. Jake whispered my name sweetly. I looked up at his smiling face that started to lean in closer and closer. His lips were on mine, kissing me passionately. I was completely shocked. I barely knew him. Plus I had never made out with a guy and was afraid it would show. Instead of backing away, I attempted to hide my uneasy feelings and tried to use my mediocre kissing skills to my advantage. His hands snaked around my back and slowly made their way up and around to my front. I jerky away, feeling used. "Something wrong?" he asked innocently. That was the last thing he was: innocent. I didn't want to be with him anymore because I was afraid of what he would do next. I was so upset that I got up and left the room heading for the door. Jake caught up with me when I reached Leah's porch. "What's wrong?" he asked looking confused.

"I – You!" I yelled sounding more confident than I felt. "I can't believe you! I don't even know you! You can't just make out with me like that!" He looked at me confuse. It was probably because most girls did make out with him like that on the first date.

"What's your problem?" he yelled. "I can't believe I asked you out. You're so immature and not even a real cheerleader! You're just a - a – a prude band geek!"

His last words stung me hard. A prude band geek was I? "Well I guess I'll have to find another prude band geek to go out with. At least they have some manners!" I shot back storming down the driveway and back to the high school.

When I got there, I was more sad and hurt than mad. I found a pay phone to call my mom. However, halfway through dialing the number I hung up and headed toward The Band Room. I opened the door to find Ryan, Jimmy, Sean, Scarlet, and Lola all eating pizza.

"McBride'll kill you if she sees the food in here." I observed.

"You're early," Lola said ignoring my comment. I knew they knew something was wrong. There was no use trying to hide my feelings from them. I had known Lola and Scarlet both since seventh grade and we always know when the other is hurting. Even though I knew they were going to find out anyway, I lied.

"Yah, well, I got tired," I said slowly.

"And..." Scarlet asked. "Allison! Something's wrong and we all know it! Even the boys. We're your best friends so tell us!"

She was teasing but I knew she was right. I sat down, took a piece of pizza, and told the five of them my story. I began with the BOA problem and then launched into my date with Jake. "And then," I finished dramatically, "he call me a prude band geek."

"That's not always bad, you know, being prude." Sean pointed out. I could always could on Sean to make me feel like I didn't have to prove anything to anyone.

"Yah but still, this means Ryan's the only one who hasn't kissed anyone!" Jimmy teased his section leader. Ryan made a face before disappearing into the storage room to get his clarinet for the game. "Jimmy! I didn't even like the kiss!" I whined at him.

"Whatever Alli. Do you want me to get your shako?" he asked.

I looked around and noticed people were arriving to get ready for the game. I nodded and helped the girls clean up the pizza so McBride would never know. Over the course of the next 20 minutes the entire band arrived and got into uniform. I placed my shako firmly on my head and marched outside to warm up leaving my cheering worries behind me.

Halftime did not come soon enough. No one was ready. Mrs. McBride seemed to notice our thoughts because as we nervously headed to our warm up stop she said "If you waited until you ready to do something, you wouldn't do anything at all." As Lily tuned us she warned us that only the parents would be watching and this was not going to be like the parade. However, everyone was much more interested in Jimmy who was adding his own spice to the first game.

"I remember MY first game of freshman year." He teased the freshmen. "It was a perfect September evening like this one and we were standing in our starting position and my shako flew right off!" He flew his arms around to add drama. "And then," he continued, "during the second movement one of my Dinkles fell off and a trombone player tripped over it. Then in the fourth movement my sock fell off and I was force to march the rest of the show with a bare foot."

The freshmen looked at him clearly scared to death. Jimmy was trying to keep a straight face but wasn't doing a very good job and the rest of the upperclassmen, including myself, were trying very hard to laugh. Lily, on the other hand, was not amused. "Jimmy, you are so dumb. And we all know that didn't happen because that year we only had three movements in our show!" This comment sent the upperclassmen into a fit of giggles while the freshmen were still looking uneasy. "Alright!" Lily said firmly. "All hands in the middle. Clarinetees on three. Ready? One... two... three!"

"CLARINETEES!" the section chorused.

With that, the section lined up in the starting line, stood at attention, and marched out on the field where they waited for Andrew's command to start.

"Drum major Andrew Murray, is your band ready?" A voice boomed over the loud speaker. Andrew turned to salute the crowd who responded with a warm applause. "Frost High School, you may take the field in expedition."

Even though I was too far away to see Andrew's face, he seemed to be really nervous. George Washington's first game wasn't until next week so we assumed some of them were in the stands. Andrew held up his hands to begin the show. It would have been a perfect beginning if it wasn't for the fact that we were still standing at attention. He was supposed to say 'band horns up' but he completely forgot and the entire first measure when by with just marching and very little noise. However, by then section measure everyone, except for a few terrified freshmen, was playing. I raced from set to set creating descent intervals and smooth visual effects. The clarinets stood in the back at a halt for a few measures of runs during the fourth and final movement. At the sep off the bass drum player lost his balance and flipped right over his drum. I and the clarinets around me continued to march but were so shocked that we stopped playing to watch in horror as the boy got up so fast it was as though it didn't even happen. We ended the show with an eight step rewind followed by a horn pop that had the crowd going wild. I snapped my horn out of my mouth as I stood at attention soaking in the moment. The breeze was blowing in my hair and I had never been more proud of myself in my entire life. The crowd had never responded like this. As we marched off I heard Mr. Kester say "Dang we got a band!" As the football players returned to the field, Mrs. McBride told us how incredibly wonderful we were for the first game while Mr. Kester danced around saying "we got a band, we got a band." As we returned to the stands to play tunes for the remainder of the game the GW drum major came over to tell Andrew how great he was and that he couldn't wait to see us at BOA. "But next time," he teased, "tell your band to put their horns up before they start to play."

It wasn't until we returned to The Band Room that we realized how great we really were. After every game we take off our uniforms in the band room while watching a tape of our show. This time, however, instead of goofing around everyone stood, still sweaty, with their eyes fixed on the television. With every straight line the room exploded with cheers of happiness. "Look at those intervals..." some seniors were saying. We all laughed at our mistakes including the bass drummer who flipped. Mrs. McBride stopped the tape at the end and said to her energized marching band "Have you ever been so excited about anything in your entire lives?"

"No!" The animated band yelled back.

"Dang we are such band geeks!" Jimmy announced.

And I wouldn't have had it any other way.


	8. Movement Seven: A Lesson In Algebra

"Hey Allison! I saw the show Friday night and it was great!" Jenny whispered excitedly to me at the end of cheerleading practice early the following Monday morning. It was really early but in order to have cheerleading practice around my marching band practices, sometimes we had to get together before school. The two of us were now standing in front of the mirror in the girls' locker room with our school clothes on, putting on our make-up.

"Oh you got to see it?" I asked her. The cheerleaders didn't always get to see the show because they were too busy waving to the football team as they went into the locker room.

"Like I've ever missed a show," she said sarcastically while running a brush through her hair. "Jake's going out with Leah now by the way. I totally love you for telling him off like that. We all saw the whole thing. Oh and have you decided what you are going to do about Bands of America?"

"Wow! Jenny! One thing at a time! I have no clue what I'm doing about Bands of America. And you guys saw that?! Oh god."

"You have to make a decision fast," Jenny pointed out ignoring the topic of Jake. "The longer you wait the more you'll hurt the group you quit. However, I think you've already made your decision.... That's all I'm gonna say."

I looked at her puzzled for a minute as she left the locker room on her way to first period. I had no clue what she was talking about. I checked my hair one last time and then headed out into the school on my way to Algebra. On the way I was thinking so hard about what Jenny could have meant that I ran right into someone.

"Oh sorry," I said helping the browned haired girl pick up her books.

"It's okay Alli. Oh by the way, word on the streets says you've got a cheering competition on October 9th. And Palmer found out so be careful," the girl responded.

"Lily!" I said as we stood up and I was able to get a better look at her. "I already told Ryan and he hates me."

"Oh Lordy, you'll figure it out, you always do," my section leader said mysteriously before leaving for her first period.

"Oh and sleep this week! Big competition Saturday!" she called over her shoulder.

I stood there very confused. Two people seemed to be convinced that had everything figured out and that whatever decision I had made was the best one. However, that could not have been farther from the truth. I sat in Algebra trying to take notes, but my mind was so full of thoughts that I gave up about a half hour into class. As I considered the pros and cons of choosing either activity, I started drawing the words "Paris Sketches" in my notebook where I was suppose to be working the 23rd problem on page 45. It was then that I started to daydream. As I did, something Mr. Kester said started to come back to me. It was something about show and its sets. Something about how the show was supposed to be performed.

_"It's not about the sets. It's about the movement between the sets."_

That was it. But how was that relevant? Sets.... Sets... Sets in the show were goal points or places that you wanted to reach. The movements were how one reached that destination. In real life sets were similar to competitions and games. The movements were the practices and the drama that took place within the walls of the band room that had turned us into the successful and emotionally close band that we were. That was it! Life was just one big emotional field show. I just happened to be marching to two different beats at the same time. Life was so cruel. Now all I had to do was figure out which one I wanted to do more.

SATURDAY

Word about my procrastination on making a commitment to either one of my activities got around. No one except my close band friends and Jenny actually talked to me about, but I could tell people were discussing my loyalty behind my back. Leah went out of her way to stop me in the hallway and remind me about cheerleading practice. She often reminded me so loudly that everyone in the hallway would know that I was still on the squad. I wasn't sure why my being a cheerleader was so important to her. Sean thought it was because of what I had done to Jake. His theory was Leah thought if I choose band I would tell everyone about what happened and that could do some serious damage to both Leah's and Jake's reputation. That could be true but the last thing I wanted people to know about was that I had swapped spit with the rude quarterback.

In addition to the cheerleaders, the rest of the band had lost all respect for me because I was actually considering cheering over them. The sparkle in Andrew's eyes had faded because I had always been his number one fan next to Lily. Ryan was the worst of them all. At least everyone else in the band would still talk to me or wave to me in the hall. Ryan, however, wouldn't even look at me. Sometimes in the hall he would rush off in a different direction to avoid walking past me. My friends stood by me but I could tell how disappointed they were. Lily was the only one who seemed to think everything would be alright. Despite the lack of spirit in the band, the worst was yet to come.

The bus ride to Saturday's competition was stone silent. I was beginning to think that I liked marching better when we were losing everything. At least then we were happy. When we arrived at George Washington High the sections stood in small warm up circles to tune. There was still an empty silence in the air. I wasn't exactly sure how 220 people could be affected by the decision I had yet to make so when Lily finished tuning us, I confronted her.

"Allison," she started slowly, "everything at Frost is amazing. Everything, except the marching band. Then we start to get good at it and you want to dump in for something that has already established itself as and awarding winning activity. It just takes away from the whole "team" thing."

"But you're not upset with me," I pointed out

"I've always believed you would make the right decision. You always do." She said for the second time that week and then left me alone with me thoughts.

Although, this time I was not able to sit and mull over what she had said because in next to no time we were in our starting position and Andrew had raised his hands to begin the show, the last performance of the night. Seven minutes and 23 seconds later our show was over.

It was an average performance. We had not knocked everyone's socks off nor did we stink. No one said anything about it. The performance had been as deathly boring as the silence during our warm-up. We all lined up in the stands to await the awards. Twenty minutes later, the announcer started to give out awards to the three bands in our division.

"And finally we will conclude our ceremony with the 4A division scores. In third place with a score of 84.6 Frost High School."

There was a polite applause from the crowd. Frost just sat there soaking up that fact that we had lost. Again. But this time it was different. It wasn't the happy go lucky band that showed up, had fun, did the best they could, and left with the last place trophy still smiling. This time we had not done our best. More importantly, we didn't have fun. After George Washington took every award (except for best drumline, which went to Franklin High School) as well as the Grand Championship, we marched out. We used to march in and out of various events perfectly in step, with our heads held high, showing our pride for what we did. This time the pride was gone. The GW drum major saluted us on the way out, but Andrew made a quick hand gesture for him to stop.

"Once a loser band, always a loser band," commented a marcher from Franklin. The comment was completely uncalled for. But in our hearts, we all knew it was true.

The spirit of the band was gone. And it was all my fault.

**AN: Yes, sad chapter I know. I was having a writer's block. It will get happier though, I promise!! Oh and a reviewer asked what a shako was. It is a term a lot of marchers use for the bucket hats we wear while marching. Ours say "shakomaker" on the inside. It's kinda like calling the shoes Dinkles or Drillmasters. AnywayZ hope you all enjoyed this one! Please R&R! xoxo **


	9. Movement Eight: Revenge In The Band Room

I went to the band room just like every other morning to put my instrument in my locker. As I turned the lock to open it, someone came up behind me.

"No one comes to the band room anymore," Scarlet's voice said dryly. I put my clarinet in my locker and slowly turned toward her. Jenny and Lola were there too. I couldn't bring myself to look them in the eye.

"It's been like this all week. Today is now Thursday. Practices are dead. Mornings are empty. No one even hangs around after class anymore," Lola added just as dryly as Scarlet.

"Are you blaming me?" I asked them, still not looking them in the eye.

"Not really," Lola started.

"We just want you to make a decision," Scarlet finished.

I slowly lifted my gaze. It was time to tell them what I had been thinking long and hard about since the competition. "I love to cheer. I love to march. I have great friends in both activities and I could succeed at both."

"That's not helping," Lola interrupted.

"But," I continued, "I can live with out cheerleading. I could never, ever, ever, live without marching band or playing my clarinet. I don't even what to imagine life without you guys or the feeling I get every single time I put that clarinet in my mouth. We're more than a marching band, we're a family. And families stick together when it seems that all hope is lost. This means the world to me. You guys mean the world to me. Besides, I can't let you guys go to Bands of America in your current condition." I finish with a smile.

"That's my girl!" Jenny said, "I knew you would make the right decision.

"Oh Lily, don't cry!" Scarlet said looking over at Lily who was leaning against the locker room door with her hand over her mouth and tears streaming down her face. She had obviously been there the whole time.

"I'm sorry," she sniffed pulling me into a hug, "that was just so beautiful!"

"Typical section leader," Lola said rolling her eyes, "but what about the squad?"

"I haven't really decided how I'm going to tell me them," I admitted still in Lily's arms.

"Well if they come after you, we got your back McAlister!" Lily said finally releasing me.

It would be assumed that word would spread slowly in a school of 3,000 students but when 10% of the school is made of band kids it was only expected that everyone would hear about my decision by the end of first period. With the Bands of America festival a week away, the spirit explosion among the band kids could not have been more appropriate. They were giving high fives in the hallway and yelling 'see you at practice!' across locker bays. I even heard during one of the lunches the trumpet section leader stood on the table and announced to everyone that he was marching in the Bands of America festival and we were going to kick some tail. By the end of the day it seemed that we were the marching band we used to be. Of course, the perfect moment could not have lasted forever. I stood in the band room that afternoon stretching for my first practice as a 100% band geek. It was then that Leah and her cheerleading friends walked right into the band room. The weird part was no one tired to stop them.

"Word on the street says you're going to quit cheerleading," Leah said coldly.

"I'm sorry you must have heard wrong. I'm not going to quit. I already have," I said trying to keep a straight face. The Band Room was stone silence as everyone watched this information soak into Leah.

"You can't quit. We have NCS in one week. You made a commitment," she said.

"Well I have BOA in a week. And I made a commitment to basketball cheerleading. You pulled me into this NCS thing."

"Don't you dare blame this on me, McAlister!" she said drilling her eyes into me. "Jake was right! You're just a – a...."

"A what?" I asked her standing up. "Say it. I'm just a prude band geek! Is that what you were going to say? I'm just some stupid clarinet player in the marching band? Yah, well, maybe I like it that way."

Many of the band members cheered for this response but Leah's follow up remark quickly hushed them.

"You want to be some unpopular dunce? You want to live in this stuffy room where no one notices you? Reality check babe: No one cares about the marching band!"

The band was silent feeling defeated. I looked around at them slowly, knowing my comeback. I then turned back to Leah.

"Psh! Reality! Reality is for people who can't cope with marching band," I said coolly.

"Oooooh" went the marching band.

"Whatever. Just don't come crawling to me when you realize where you would have been better off," she snarled back and left with the other cheerleaders without another word.

"I already realized where I'm better off," I told the marching band. "Thanks for taking me back guys. I'm really sorry it took me so long to realize that I belong here. But why didn't you stop them when they came in. It's hell trying to get in here if you're not in band."

The band looked at Scarlet and Sean.

"We, um, kinda made sure they knew you had made up your mind," Sean began.

"And that they knew you would be here after school. We wanted you to be able to humiliate them in front of the whole band," Scarlet finished for him.

"You know we can't miss something like that!" Sean said with a smile.

I smiled at them and then rushed over to hug them both. "Alright! As amazing as that was we really have to get down to the field. We have a limited number of practices before BOA and we need all the practice we can get!" Andrew said loudly, herding everyone outside. "It should be a good practice since we have our spirit back!" he then said so only I could hear him.

It was a fantastic practice. I felt like a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders. After seven years of trying to be a popular, preppy cheerleader, I realized that the place where I could find true happiness was right in front of me the whole time.


	10. Movement Nine: Dynamics

**AN: As you may have noticed I'm beginning to wrap things up. I'm not sure if this story will end after the Bands of America competition. That will most likely be about 3 or 4 chapters so we've got a little ways to go. My next story is going to be romance. I think. I have a lot of ideas for it but no real storyline. For now, I'm just focusing on this story. Plus band camp starts this week! Well enjoy and R&R! xoxo**

We had a band free weekend and Monday reunited us all in the band room where we discussed the fact that this week of practices were going to be really important if we were going to have a chance at BOA. We had a game on Friday which was going to be our last run through before the big day. Everyone was talking excitedly. It was good to be back to normal. Or as normal as marching band at Frost High School ever was.

That afternoon, I went to the band room to sort left over pep band music for McBride. The Band Room was empty because there was no marching band practice on Mondays. Since the rest of the week's practices ate into our homework time, marchers often rushed home on Mondays to do a week's worth of homework. I didn't have a whole lot because my mad homework rush day was usually Sunday. I enjoyed sorting music because it gave me a chance to think away from the rest of the world.

"Still here?" Lily asked me as she came into the library to give me a few extra copies of Louie Louie.

"Yah just sorting music," I told her. "What are you doing here?"

"Andrew's talking to McBride about the competition. Then we're going out for ice cream. We haven't really had a real date since camp started. You know, what you said to Leah on Thursday is all over the school. You're like famous!" she laughed. Just then, Ryan ran into the room looking really upset.

"You – You!" he yelled pointing at me. "Bands of America is in ONE week! ONE! What's it going to be? Cheerleading or Marching Band?"

"Oh right! He has a lesson on Thursdays! He was late and missed you're thing. Still, the news is all over the school. Ryan, as much as I love marching and all, you really need to get a life. Or a girlfriend. It doesn't have to be all band, all the time, you know," Lily said.

"S'arlight Lily, I got this one. Have fun with Andrew!" I told her as she left the storage room. I had never been alone in a room with Ryan before or talked to him using more than one or two sentences at a time. Standing there with his cold eyes drilling into me made me very uncomfortable. Those eyes seemed to be trying to look inside me for some kind of answer. It was like he was trying to understand a foreign language. I let out a deep sigh. Ryan exploded.

"I can't believe you would leave us in the dark THIS LONG!" he yelled. "You totally left the whole freakin' band hanging! This is going to throw the whole drill off and it's all your fault and we won't have any good players on second part anymore and I just can believe your horrible lack of character. How can you just leave us like this?! We are so close to..."

"Ryan!" I cut him off. "I quit! Okay? Are you happy now? I gave it all up. To be here. With all of you guys."

"What?" he asked clearly stunned.

"I told the band on Thursday and if you would take your clarinet out of your mouth for five minutes, you may have noticed," I yelled back outraged. "Do you even care about your section as people? Or are they just clarinets? There are real people playing those instruments, you know. You don't even believe in us."

"Like you do? You were going to leave us!" he pointed out, still yelling.

I paused. I was never really going to leave them but I knew that the band never knew that. Another deep sigh escaped me as I realized that I had a lot of band life to catch up on. "But I didn't," I said firmly but at normal volume.

"Why not?" He demanded loudly.

I couldn't face him. I turned away. "Because I love this band. I love everything about it. From the uniforms to the hot, sweaty practices to the crazy bus rides to the freezing games. Cheerleading has done nothing but make me worry about what I look like and how I present myself. Marching Band has taught me to be myself and express what I believe in."

I stopped talking and focused my eyes on the floor. The tears started to form in my eyes and I swallowed hard, trying not to cry. Ryan came up behind me and rested his hands on my shoulders. "It would have been so easy to just give up after that competition," he told me in a whisper. "After that everyone just stopped believing. Even me."

"But that's your job," I told him, still not facing him. "It is number four on the job description. 'Create a sense of teamwork and spirit within your section.' You can't just give up on us. When you give up, the whole team gives up."

"You read the section leader job description?" he asked me looking surprised.

"I tried out. I know I'm only a sophomore but I wanted to show I had some interest in become a leader." Very few people knew that I had gone out for section leader last spring. All section leaders had to do was write a paper. Only the drum major try-outs consisted of a written paper as well as an interview and a conducting performance.

"Did Lily know?" he asked me and I nodded. "So that's why she thought you were going to choose marching band in the end." I did confine in Lily as well as Jenny that I was going out for section leader. It was common knowledge that the people who went out for section leader were the most dedicated of all the marchers. That must have been how they knew. "Allison McAlister is your band ready?" he asked me in a deep whisper.

I pulled my shoulders back, turned on my heel as I pretended the drum major cape was swishing across my back as I did it, and performed Andrew's salute for Ryan like I never had before. His hand almost touched my face when I finished, but he stopped himself halfway there. "You know sometimes it's not about the sets," I started still standing at attention.

"It's about the movement between the sets," he finished softly pulling my hands out of attention and holding them in his.

"You got that?" I asked looking him in the eye.

"Of course," he whispered.

A tear escaped from my eye and rolled down my cheek. I backed away from him and pressed my back up against the wall, not facing him again. The moment was too emotional. I couldn't handle myself being so close and intimate with Ryan. Half of me wanted to be alone with my thoughts and the other half was praying he wouldn't leave me. He slowly turned around. His blue eyes sparkled in the dim light of the storage room as he spoke again.

"You don't have to be so brave," he said to me, still whispering, as I suddenly grew weak in the knees and sunk to the floor. "That's why you're a musician. You bring feelings to life. You put your soul into what you do without holding back." He was now on the floor, sitting next to me. He rested my face in his hands and brushed the tears from my eyes with his thumbs. "Music is the second greatest force in the universe," he told me more softly then ever as his face got closer to mine.

"What's the first?" I choked.

"Love."

The space between our lips disappeared and I was locked in a passionate kiss with one of the most wonderful musicians I had ever known. It was then that I did the worse thing in the band geek code of conduct. I fell in love with my section leader.


	11. Movement Ten: Band Geeks On Tour

I've decided that I hate Algebra. Yes, I defiantly do. I drummed my black fingernails on the desk that I painted for spirit. I also had on one of my favorite band shirts that said "I'm with the band."

"Pst! Are you paying attention?" the brown hair boy in front of me asked as he tried to give me the homework worksheet.

"Oh sorry," I whispered back.

I looked at the top of the paper and wrote my name and the date: October 8th. We had a few minutes before the bell rang to do the homework but all I could think about was leaving for Bands of America that evening. We were going to perform at Rutgers University in the morning. Bands from 8 am to 4 pm. What a perfect band day. I took a deep breath and tried to do the first math problem on the page. But every linear equation that I was supposed to solve had the same answer: New Jersey. Instead of completing the assignment, I ended up with a lot of music notes doodled all over my scrap paper. The bell finally rang. I shot up so fast I tripped over my backpack and fell face first on the ground.

"You band people..." the same brown haired boy said more to himself than me. "I don't even get this Marchers of America thing."

"It's BANDS of America," I said loudly as I shoved my books in my backpack. "And what's to get? It's just like any normal competition. We go, we get rated, we win a big trophy, and we leave."

The boy raised his eyebrows and sneered, "but the band never wins big trophies. Actually, the band never wins any trophies."

"We'll see about that," I finished and stalked out of the room before the boy could make any other rude comments.

However, he did have a point. We had never actually won anything with the exception of the parade. Not that I really cared what random people in my algebra class thought.

The minutes seemed to last for days and I didn't really notice the hours passing by. The band kids walked around the hallways like zombies waiting for one o'clock to come. We were going to miss last period in order to get ahead of rush hour on that sunny, Friday afternoon. However, the annoucement didn't come on until an entire 30 seconds past one.

"Please excuse the interruption teachers, but will you please excuse all members of the marching band at this time."

I was in health class at the time with a bunch of weird skater kids and preps who probably didn't know we even had a marching band. I tried so hard not to skip to the band room. When I finally got there, I grabbed my bag of clothes and assorted items I couldn't live without for the one night we would be in New Jersey. Scarlet and Lola ran up behind me and hugged me. "Oh! I love your shirt! You should change it to 'I AM the band!'" Because you know, you are!"

"Wow, Scarlet that was the worst sentence," I told her as we all went into the storage room to get our instruments.

"Hey Lola, I found a new place we can go make-out," Jimmy said when he found us in the storage room.

"Gross, Jimmy! I love you and all but was that really necessary?" Lola scolded her boyfriend.

"Well maybe... considering SOME people in this band have found that the practice room is a wonderful place to make-out," he said with a twinkle in his eyes.

My face got very hot. I knew how close he and Ryan were. I hadn't told any of my friends about what had happen last Monday. Scarlet and Lola looked and my cheery red face for an explanation.

"Okay first of all, it was not a practice room," I told them. "It was the music library. And second of all, we did not 'make-out.' We just kissed. Once."

"Hey, wanna be my bus buddy?" Ryan asked appearing out of no where.

My girlfriends, who were standing there with their mouths half open, started to laugh. I rolled my eyes and told Ryan I would love to be his bus buddy. Lily came in to get us moving faster out to the busses. Most of the parents had come to drop of their children's luggage. I met my dad outside who handed me the backpack that I had packed earlier, wished me good luck, and said he'd see me at the competition. I hugged him quickly and went to get a seat with my friends. Even though I was only a sophomore, the girls and I got a seat in the back with the juniors. We forced the freshmen to sit in the front but they didn't seem to mind as long as they were with each other. The seniors usually go their own bus. By 3:30 the four charter busses and the equipment truck pulled out of the Frost parking lot.

"Okay," Sean, who was sitting in front of us with Scarlet, announced to Ryan, "I don't want to see anything inappropriate out of you two."

"Sean! You moron! Maybe we should be saying the same for you!" Jimmy, who was sitting across from us with Lola, teased his friend.

Mr. Palmer, our chaperone, called role and then put in a horror movie about a haunted house. It was then that I confined in my 5 friends that I was not a big fan of scary movies.

"It's okay, Ryan can hold your hand," Sean teased me. Scarlet hit him playfully. About a half hour into the three hour, horror ride through the haunted house a dead guy appeared on the 8 inch screen. The entire bus screamed.

"Oh my god! You guys are crazy! That is so fake!" Sean laughed.

Of course, as horror movies go, the good guy who had also been scared by the dead guy went into the creepy forest as if he didn't realize how creepy it was until it was too late. As the music got louder and louder, a creepy hand inched out behind a bush, preparing to grab the guy. I had stopped breathing and had a tight grip on Ryan's left hand. I could almost feel the hand on my shoulder as the hand on screen got closer and closer. Suddenly, the hand clamped down on my shoulder.

"AHH! OH MY GOD, JIMMY!!" I yelled at him because it was his had the was really on me. The entire bus laughed at us.

"My god girls!" Jimmy whined, "This movie is so predictable. I've never seen it and okay watch. See the guy? He's going back into the forest! I bet 10 bucks a dead guy pops out of the bush. Ready? 5....4....3....2....1..."

Sure enough a dead guy popped out of the bush. Instead of the usual scream, the entire bus burst out laughing and applauded for Jimmy's correct prediction. The movie quickly turned into a comedy thanks to Jimmy's ridiculous commentary and the entire bus relaxed. By 11:00 pm we had reached a dumpy, cheep hotel in New Jersey.

"I've got the key!" Lola yelled when we got to the room.

The three of us practically feel into the room. There was one king size bed, a TV with a fuzzy picture, a broken coffee maker, and a really old shower curtain. Now we knew how the band boosters saved money. But none of that mattered. We were asleep in next to no time. In a few short hours we would be in our uniforms at Rutgers University preparing for a competition like no other.

**A/N: I'm sorry I haven't written in a really, really long time. I found out our band actually got accepted to a Bands of America competition half way through this story and wanted to experience it before I wrote about it. I'll be better about it though. Plus, I really want to finish this one so I can start another. AnywayZ, enjoy and R&R! xoxo**


	12. Movement Eleven: Paris Sketches

**A/N: For my readers/commenters who are paying close attention, this story is based on an actual Bands of America competition at Rutgers. I don't want to say much about the facts now because that would wreck the story. I promise to run a chapter of author's notes at the end of the story since many of you seem to be interested. I'm going to try to finish this story soon since I have ideas for two other stories.Thank you all for your wonderful comments. Enjoy the competition! R&R! xoxo. (PS - this is not the end and it is supposed to end with an incomplete thought)**

I stood at attention staring past my mouth piece at the giant stadium off in the distance. It was 7:25 on that Saturday and the morning fog was starting to lift.

"Forward March!" Lily's voice rang in my ears as Ryan clapped a steady tempo. I march forward automatically on the practice field trying to keep my eyes up. After fifteen minutes of physical warm-up McBride got us into a giant circle where we practiced breathing and long tones. I wasn't exactly sure what the average marcher felt a half hour before a Bands of America performance time but the fire I was feeling in my heart seemed to match the fire I saw in Andrew's eyes. McBride then pulled us into a circle and with tears in her eyes told us how wonderful we were.

"This is it. I want you to forget about the mediocre marching band everyone knows."

"And loves!" yelled Jimmy.

"And loves," she added smiling. "Now that same marching band is going to get out there and be unbelievable. I don't care how many points you get or what your rank is. You are going to be unbelievable. You guys mean the world to me and in my 35 years of teaching I've have never worked with such a hard working group. So forget about winning or proving anything. Just get out there and do the best you can. Because I think you are the best. Let's show them how we do it at Frost High School!"

The band cheered and yelled and exchanged high fives. Lily pulled us into a circle where we all put our hands in the middle, counted to three, and yelled 'Clarinetees!' The band then went marching two by two to the stadium at attention to the click of the head snare drum on the drumline. Through the Rutgers campus we marched until we all stopped right outside the stadium and waiting for the band ahead of us to finish. It was George Washington High School playing louder and more beautifully than ever. The band knew going in that they would be a hard act to follow but it didn't matter. It was unbelievable that we were even here. Andrew walked slowly through the two lines patting everyone on the back. It was a process the drum major went through at every performance. Only this time Andrew had tears in his eyes.

"And now," a voice blasted over the loud speaker, "all the way from Virginia, the pride of West County, The Frost High School Marching Band!"

The snare drum clicked again and we were off.

"The 220 members are lead on to the field by drum major Andrew Murray. They will be performing Paris Sketches: A Discovery of Color featuring music by Ed Huckby. Drum Major Andrew Murray, is your band ready?"

The drum major turned on the podium and performed his salute. The crowd clapped politely.

"Frost High School, you may take the field in competition."

Andrew gave us the band horns up signal and I took a breath of the New Jersey air through my nose and let it out slowly through my horn as the show began. As I marched from set to set I felt like I was floating. I didn't focus on field judges or the cameras or the crowd. The band reached the end of the second movement and the horns came down. Andrew turned to acknowledge the crowd's loud applause. I stood at attention trying not to smile at the diagonal that the clarinets had formed perfectly. As the band eased into the ballad my heart pounded and I tried really hard not to get out of step at the slow tempo. At measure 25 we hit the set with the four, interlocking circles that stretched from both sidelines and hit the 20 yard lines. The C cords rang out past the press box and into the sky. As the notes got louder, the wind picked up and gave the giant, pastel colored flags and the music wings to soar into the listener's hearts. It was a moment when a player realizes why he works so hard. It was simply beautiful. The fourth movement began with a bang. Wooden fingers flew across the keys as the brass double tongued melodies that brought the fast movie city to life. Sabers twirled through the air as other guard members jazz ran to the side lines to get the giant flags for the big finish. The band marched the last few sets before falling into a block and performing a spectacular 8 step rewind followed by a horn pop and the ending pose.

My heart pounded as the crowed applauded loudly. The entire section of Frost parents were on their feet. That could have meant anything though. They were supposed to love us. The snare drum clicked and the band marched off the field sweating and breathing hard. "You guys sounded great!" a pit member from the band that was going after us said honestly. We reached the parking lot, still speechless. This show truly was breath-taking. It didn't even matter what anyone else thought. We had done our best. It was thrilling, it was alive, it was loud, it was fast, it was….


	13. Movement Twelve: Anticipation

"Good," Mr. Kester announced to the band in the parking lot. "There were tempo issues at the beginning but Andrew got you guys back on. Lines and intervals were pretty good. It was… well it was good. We won't know anything until five."

* * *

"Ow! Jimmy! You're on my pants!"

"Palmer, give me my other Dinkle!"

"This is my Dinkle! Your Dinkle is over there!"

"Allison, do have a brush?"

"Sure. Can I borrow your eyeliner?"

"What's eyeliner? Oh nice boxers Sean."

"Hey! Don't look! Wait… Um Lola, I think this is yours…"

Lola snatched the pink bra from Sean's hands and shoved it in her backpack. In the past four years of the high school's existence the band kids had found that trying to create coed busses for changing wasted a lot of time. So everyone got on his or her assigned bus and did the best they could not to show anything. I was proud to say that I had perfected the fine art of changing on a coed bus.

"Allison!" Lola yelled at me. "When did you get changed?"

"Just now! You slow-pokes. Now I'm leaving before I have to see any more goofy band geeks in their underwear!" I told Lola laughing.

"No! Wait for us!" Sean said as he stood us up quickly in his seat while trying to zip up his uniform on his hanger.

Eventually everyone had their pants on and their uniforms hung up to the satisfaction of the uniform band moms. The six of us ran back to the stadium in jeans, our Paris Sketches shirts, and Dinkles to join the rest of our band. We all hurried into the stadium to catch the beginning of the 6th band performing that day.

"Oh did you see in that one part at the end of the 3rd movement where the trombones…" Lola started to say but the average-sized, Maryland band on the field had stopped her mid sentence. A voice from the press box was narrating parts of the patriotic show. It was an effect we had never seen before. "Patriotic shows never make finals. It's not very creative and too cheesy," observed the sousaphone section leader. That may have been true but the band still executed an intricate marching style that Frost could only dream of.

By the lunch break we were beginning to doubt ourselves. Several bands had narration, scatter effects, and a lot of visuals.

"We can't compete with this!" Scarlet whined to us as the six of us waited for the first band of the second half of preliminaries to begin.

"We don't have the bling, bling," Jimmy added bluntly as the very large band with the black and red uniforms continued to set up.

"Yah and look at the size of this band! I bet they've been marching since January. And they probably have eight or nine competitions this season," Ryan said looking as if he thought he hadn't fulfilled his duty to us as a section leader.

"Look! They have a tree! What's up with using trees as props? There's been 3 bands with trees already." Sean pointed out.

Lola just let out a deep sigh as if she was lost for words. I looked past my friends at the band coming over the hill to perform. That's how it was all morning. A band would be performing while the next band could be seen marching over the hill far in the distance awaiting their chance to march.

"So you've lost all faith?" I asked slowly. "All hope, all pride in what you do? We are a marching band! No one believes in us! Not the football team, not the school, not the stupid kid in my algebra class. And I would know being a former cheerleader. But if we don't believe in ourselves no one will! Do you even remember how we got here? It was because a judge believed in us. Some random judge. Just to be here I would say is an honor!"

My friends looked at me with anxious expressions before focusing their attention back on the 4th tree band of the afternoon who I thought had spectacular visuals. My friends believed in themselves. There was no doubt about it. However, since we went duringthe first half and were now being forced to watch the most amazing bands on the east coast, we were not as confident as usual. During the second half of the preliminaries we saw some of the most elaborate marching shows imaginable. They were all spectacular but some were so musical, it made me wonder how they pulled it off at football games when they performed for the, shall we say, non musical population. By 4:00 we had seen 6 bands with narration, 5 bands with trees, 3 bands with state champion color guard, and 2 bands that used their uniforms as part of overall effect.

Thirty years from now I probably won't remember much detail about this competition. What I will remember is the silly bus ride, watching the country's best bands for an entire Saturday afternoon with my best friends, and the 6 bands that showed up with trees. Mostly I'll remember how I felt on the field that day and how the music had touched me a way that it never had before. I will also remember how energized I was with the thrill of anticipation as my friends and I waited for five o'clock when the top ten bands on the east coast would be announced.

**A/N: I'm glad so many of you liked the last chapter! Thank you for all the wonderful reviews. The story should be finished in another 3 or so chapters. I've know I've been saying that for half the story but I really mean it this time. :) Enjoy and R&R! xoxo**


	14. Movement Thirteen:Pursuit of Excellence

"Will all the bands and guests please take your seats? We are now ready to present the awards." 

The announcer's voice was strong and professional. My five friends and I moved closer together with the rest of the Frost Marching Band. My left hand was clasping Ryan's hand and the circulation in my right hand was being cut off by Scarlet's grip. As we listened the ratings my whole body shook and I had to remind myself to breathe. A band's name was called followed by a rating. I didn't hear names very clearly. Just ratings.

"Excellent, Superior…"

_Here I am. Here I am hand in hand with 220 people who have truly changed my life. Here I am in the middle of a Regional Bands of America Competition, a competition that some marching bands only dream of. I really love music. Not music the noun or marching band the sport or concert band the after school activity but music the abstract feeling. Music the part of my life that no one could ever take out of me._

"Excellent, Excellent, Good, Superior…"

_Well, they could take me out of the music program but they couldn't take the person the music program has taught me to be out of me._

"George Washington: Excellent, Frost: Excellent…"

_No, actually, I don't think they could even take me out of the music program._

"Superior, Good, Excellent, Superior…"

_Wait? Did we just get an Excellent? We did that well? We got an Excellent?_

"Good, Good, Excellent, Superior…"

_We did well. We are Excellent. We placed Excellent onthe national scale._

"…Stonecroft, Locke, George Washington, Frost."

_Frost? Frost What?_

With tears her in eyes, Scarlet wrapped her arms around me. Over her shoulder I saw Andrew saluting us with a huge smile on his face. It was then that it hit me. We had made finals.

* * *

I fell into my bus seat with my uniform back in my hand still trying to accept what had just happened. McBride climbed onto the bus and addressed her speechless band.

"Ladies and gentlemen," she began slowly, "you placed eighth. One and a half points behind George Washington. The other six bands ahead of you all received Superiors. It is, however, astonishing that you are here in your fourth year of existence and have made finals."

That was all she said. The other finalist outside were cheered and chatting excitedly as they got back into their uniforms for a night of spectacular performances. The Frost musicians, however, sat on the bus trying to accept what had happen to them. We slowly put our black and gold uniforms back on zipping the feeling of success into our hearts and laced our Dinkles, tying our passion up tight so we could release it again on the field. As we made our way back to the stadium I picked up a program that was caught in the fence. My friends and I flipped through it looking for our school's name just to make sure wewere notdreaming. However, we never reached the list of schools.

"Pursuit," I whispered slowly, "noun. The act of striving. Excellence. Noun. The state, quality, or condition of excelling; superiority. The Pursuit of Excellence - the Bands of America motto."

"We are The Pursuit of Excellence," Scarlet whispered.

"Why are we whispering?" Jimmy asked whispered loudly.

"Jimmy!" Lola said hitting him. "You messed up the moment!"

I whipped the tears from my smiling face and stood up taller. This was not the time to get emotional with disbelief. We were marching in a Bands of America Regional Finals competition. And that was that. Wait. Let me say that again. We were marching in a Bands of America Regional Finals competiton. Wow.

"Come on you goofy band geeks! We have to get in line! We're up fifth!" Andrew said sprinting past us with is unbuttoned cape flying limply beside him.

I fell into my position in the line at six that evening waiting nervously for the single most nerve wracking experience of my marching band life. Well actually the second most nerve wracking experience if you count passing off my music freshmen year.The sun sunk below the New Jersey horizon as I blew warm air through my clarinet while waiting for our turn. The air became crisp withthe sense of accomplishment.With each passing band, we inched closer and closer to the artificial grass-covered football field. It suddenly didn't matter how well the other bands were doing. We were competing against ourselves more than anyone else. The main goal was to beat the score had received earlier.

The announcer's voice that boomed over the loud speaker was even more intimidating than the morning.

_Frost High School, you may take the field in competition…_

And the band was off. My heart was pounding faster and faster and faster until suddenly it stopped. The show had ended.I stood at attention taking in the moment as the sweat dripped down my forehead and onto my cheeks. The crowd was on its feet. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Andrew smiling from ear to ear as he saluted them.

"There's nothing like seeing a band so happy with their performance at their very first regional Bands of America competition," a field judge said off hand.

I looked at him puzzled wondering how he could have known it was our first competition. As if he read my mind, he spoke again. "Not every four-year-old band that shows up with such little experience, makes finals, and then performs like they own the place. Of course I always knew you had it in you. That's why I dragged Mrs. McBride into this."

It was the judge that believed it us! However, I didn't say anything back because I didn't think the field judges were supposed to be talking to us on the field like that.But there was no time to dwell on that. The head snare drum clicked and I began to march off the field in step with Jimmy. "Shit, they like us! They really like us!" he whispered. The tears were mixing in with the sweat on my face as the band circled around McBride for comments. With tears in her eyes, she addressed her band. Or at least she tried to.

"That was… That was… unbelievable. Just… Just unbelievable. I am so proud of all of you. I can't even put into words how amazing that truly was. It was… amazing… It means so much… In all my 45 years of teaching… I love you all. Don't let anyone tell you that this isn't worth it. All your hard work has come to this amazing accomplishment. No. You know what? It's not even about this amazing accomplishment. It is just about what spectacular people you are to have stuck with playing an instrument since 5th grade. Not everyone can do that. Not everyone has the passion, the pride, or the will-power to stay with something this hard for this long. You are wonderful. Simply wonderful."

The band was stone silent.Again.This was the first competitionthat including so many moment that actually leftus speechless. But it was the first time we had ever heard all those words of praise in one speech. Mrs. McBride did not tell us how wonderful we were every day of the week. It was a rare and exciting thing when she did. But of course the moment couldn't last forever. To no one surprise, Jimmy was the one to break the silence.

"I love you guys!" he said exaggerating his enthusiasm and hugged Sean who was looking a little uneasy from all the attention.

As the last band marched off the field, Frost broke up to go freshen up in the bathroom before awards began. My five friends and I went in search of water. As we stood in line, Jimmy pointed out that McBride had only been teaching for 35 years.

"I think after 20 years of teaching high school marching band, you start to lose count," Lola suggested.

"Hey! Frost people! Congrats on making finals and your first BOA competition!" a girl dresses in a Stonecroft uniform said suddenly. "How was your performance tonight? You did wonderfully this morning!"

We shook hands with the girl from the school that had seen the finals of a BOA competition for the past six years. She told us her name was Madison. Her long, straight, black hair hung just past her shoulders as she spoke wildly about her past experiences. The atmosphere seemed to fit her like a glove. I felt a little out of place, a rookie in the competitive world of marching band, as I listened.

"I could probably predict the outcome of this competition," she said as another Stonecroft marcher came to join her.

"New friends?" the new girl asked. "Hey, I'm Shana. Madison's right, Locke is going to win."

"They didn't have a tree," Jimmy observed.

"So? We had a tree," Shana told him.

"Yah a lot of bands had trees andmost of themmade finals," I explained. "We think that's the secret to winning – having a tree in the show."

We all laughed. "That could be it," Madison said. "Locke wins everything though. We're both from Connecticut and they always win states. We come in second by a point or two every year. And after states we met up a regional. This is our first time at Rutgers though."

"We think we're cursed," Shana added sarcastically. "Or something weird is going on over there at Locke High School."

"Are they not nice to you?" Scarlet wanted to know.

"What? No! They are wonderful! They just win everything. And we'd like, just once, to come home with a bigger trophy than them," Madison said sincerely.

"But you guys have a tree," Jimmy pointed out again.

"Will all bands please return to the stadium? We are about to begin our final award ceremony," the announcer's voiced thundered over the loud speaker.

"Well it was very nice meeting you too," I told the girls as I shook hands with Madison. "Best of luck to tonight. We'll be cheering for you over Locke High School."

"Thank you very much," she responded with a smile. "And keepup the good work.I hopeyour band continues to be the subject of conversation in the press box as it was tonight. The Frost Marching Band is going places."

I recognized a spirit in her from someone that I knew. I just couldn't place my finger on whom, exactly, it was. The girls left to join their band and I faced my five friends without anything to say. There was no time for reassuring comments or words of wisdom. What's doneis done. Scarlet and Lola gave me quick hugs as the each boy laced his fingers through his girlfriend's fingers. It was as good a time as any to have someone to hold on to. We were all winners. Every single band there was a winner. Even the ones that had not made finals were winners. That fact that they had worked so hard just to get here was a triumph worth acknowledging. But no matter how many times I reminded myself of that or repeat the motto of the pursuit of excellence in my head, it did not suppress the butterflies in my stomach. Dressed head to toe in the uniform that defined our band geekness, we marched back into the stadium.

**A/N: Here's a nice long chapter for you guys. Sorry it took me so long. I just kept coming up with more ideas. Plus, I am well into anotherstory. I have also decided to write a sequel to this one. I think I'm going to call it 'Is Your Band Ready?' But I do not have a solid storyline for it yet. But all the main characters will be back! :) This story will, sadly, only have one more chapter.(UnlessI get really excited and drown it out a little more...but that probably won't happen.)However, I will run a chapter of author's notes in addition to the final chapter because this story ended up having a lot more truth to it than I had originally intended. Especially with Bands of America. Also, many of you are asking questions about the actual Rutgers competition in your comments so I will do my best to answer them then. Thank you all very much for your comments. I appreciate the encouragement! Until next chapter! :) **


	15. Movement Fourteen:A Discovery of Color

The six of us sat down among the other Frost marchers and waited for scores. The scene had not changed much since that afternoon. The drum majors were lined up on the track and all the band members sat breathlessly, waiting for results. I looked down at my uniform and ran my fingers across the gold buttons. Whatever happened was going to happen for the best. We were finally a band. We were finally a family. I had found my true friends, something to believe in, and even a boy's hand to hold. I had found….

"Ladies and gentlemen," the announcer's voice thundered over the loud speaker for the last time that night, "Bands of America would like to congratulate all the bands who performed this evening. You are all wonderful musicians and your support in this program helps us ensure that music programs stay alive across the country. Without further ado we would like to begin the award ceremony for finals of the 2004 regional competition at Rutgers University."

You could almost hear the band members take in a deep breath of the October air. Tenth and ninth place were gone to two small bands in an instant.

"Eighth place with a score of 65.36 goes to George Washington High School."

Ryan and I exchanged confused looks. George Washington High School was called before us? As the cheers of the GW band students calmed down and the drum major returned to his line, seventh place was announced.

"Seventh place with a score of 65.36 goes to Frost High School beating Washington due to a higher general effect score."

There was a deathly silence as Andrew saluted and marched across the track to receive the award. _We just beat George Washington High School._ Was that even allowed in the band geek rule book? _We just beat George Washington High School._ Andrew took the trophy and shook the hands of the judges. _We just beat George Washington High School_. Andrew held the trophy high above his head for all of Frost to see with a huge grin on his face. _We just beat George Washington High School._ The entire Frost Marching Band leaped into the air, cheering loudly enough for the football team back home to hear us.

Andrew returned to his spot in the drum major line and placed the trophy in front of him. The cheers were brought to an end and other placements were announced. None of that mattered though. Andrew was still grinning and many seniors had started to cry. My heart was still pounding as fourth placed was announced. Ryan held me in his arms as if he was afraid he would float away if he wasn't holding on to something.

"Third place with a score of 72.67 goes to Stonecroft High School."

"What?!" yelled Jimmy, "They had a tree!"

"Second place with a score of 73.01 goes to Locke High School."

"Wow, that's really close," I commented.

"First place with a score of 73.99 goes to Robinson High School."

"Who's Robinson? Did they have a tree?" Lola asked.

I watched the Robinson drum major receive the award and the band cheer very loudly. It was a small band that had performed very early. They had a nature show with lots of trees. It wasn't my favorite show of the evening but the marching was spectacular and the music was very challenging but performed with perfection. I could see how they had won. As the band members began to leave the stadium the announcer spoke one last time.

"Congratulations to all the bands! We would like to thank you all for taking part in this wonderful musical event. The performances tonight have been spectacular. You have all done a wonderful job and we hope to see you at Grand Nationals. Also, a special thanks to our sponsor, Krispy Kream Doughnuts. Have a wonderful evening and drive safely."

"Doughnuts sponsors Bands of America?" Jimmy said confused. "I feel so much better about my music program knowing that doughnuts will always be by my side!"

"Jimmy! You are such a dork," Lola told him.

We all laughed and headed back to our busses. On the way we ran into Madison and Shana.

"Madison!" I yelled. "We're so sorry you guys didn't make it!"

"It's okay," she told us. "This is the closest we've ever gotten. Plus, that Robinson band was awesome. We'll be back next year. But congrats to you! You guys beat GW!"

"Thanks," said Ryan. "Well, we have to get to our busses. It was a pleasure meeting you. See you next year!"

We waved good-bye to the girls and got on our busses. Changing was too difficult because it was now 11:30pm so we all just took off our jackets and fell into our seats dressed in our suspenders and Dinkles. We all got free Krispy Kream Doughnuts for the ride, thanks to Bands of America.

"Well, the section is in your hand now that I'm graduating. And you have quite the reputation to hold up," Lily told us, leaning over the seat with a doughnut in her mouth.

I grinned. Perhaps I would go out for section leader again. We were going to need someone to replace Lily. If it wasn't me, it would probably be Jimmy and that could get interesting. Suddenly, my cell phone rang. Thinking it was my mom, I picked up. "Allison McAlister."

"Allison! You so totally rock!" the voice said. It wasn't my mom.

"Jenny?" I asked surprised.

"Yah, sorry, but oh my god! You guys so totally rock!"

"Jenny, what are you talking about?"

"You got seventh place and you beat George Washington!"

"Jenny… that happened a half hour ago… How do you know that?"

"I – well – I came," she said trailing off. "Leah messed up major during one of our stunts so we didn't even make finals. It was in New York so I stopped here on the way back home. I saw your performance during finals."

"Oh my gosh! Why didn't you call?! Where are you now?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I knew I liked Jenny. Secretly, I was happy they had messed up the competition. Leah deserved it.

"I'm in the car with my mom. We're on our way home. And I don't think I'm going to cheer next year."

"What? Why? Leah will be graduating. It might get better."

"Well, what I really like to do is dance and I was watching all the color guard girls tonight. I think – I think color guard might be more fun. And I would get to hang out with you more." She stopped suddenly as if she was unsure of that decision.

"Oh Jenny! That would be wonderful! We would love to have you!" I couldn't believe it. Jenny was going to be a color guard next year!

"Thanks! Well, I have to go but I'll see you in school, okay?"

"Okay! Talk to you then."

We hung up. "Jenny is going to join color guard next year!" I informed the group.

"No way!" Jimmy said. "Ha! The dark side wins again!"

Around mid-night, we finally got out on the road for the four-hour trip home. Mrs. McBride put in the tape of our show from finals. I relaxed in Ryan's arms as I watched the sets go by. We were all perfectly in step. Even the music sounded wonderful on the low quality tape. Andrew looked so confident with every cue and every cut off. It was the perfect ending to one of the most spectacular nights of my whole life. The tape ended and the band members began to fall asleep on each other as we made our way back to Virginia with another trophy for thecase. Maybe the principal would even let us put it next to the state championship football trophy we had won last year. Ryan rested his head on mine and appeared to be asleep. I had never been more content in my entire life. I wanted to stay in this perfect world of marching band forever. For my whole life I had been trying to fit in with everyone else. I had found that I liked marching band better because no one knew much about it. I could be myself and not worry about anyone or anything. I looked at my sleepy friend in the seats next to me. I didn't know what would come of my six friends, but I was so glad I had found them. I couldn't wait for next year. I was going to be all band geek, all the time. This year was my experiment year. Even at the end of my sophomore year, I still felt clueless, but I did feel stronger than I ever had before. The greyhound bus rolled along smoothly across the highway as I closed my eyes and to sleep and the day of band geek paradise. Paris Sketches had truly been a discovery of color.


	16. Closer: Author's Notes

Hey everyone! Thank you so much for sticking with me. I know I haven't been updating as much as I should but I finally finished it and I am on to a new story. This story did have more truth to it than I had originally intended and many of you have been asking about certain things so I thought I would write a page of author's notes. Here goes.

**Paris Sketches: A Discovery of Color** – My school did this show my freshmen year (2003). We won States with it. I thought it would make a good story. I set the story up as if it was a show. Paris Sketches was the name and all the chapter titles were the movements. Because it was my freshmen year and my first year marching, it truly was my year to discover a whole new set of colors.

**Bands of America** – This is a real, nation-wide competition. My band went in 2004, my sophomore year. Our show was Piano: The Colors of the Keys. It was not as good as Paris Sketches and we only got 13th place. (Those of you true band geeks now have enough information to figure out what school I go to.) The competition did actually take place at Rutgers but because my band never made it to finals, a lot of it is made up. There were about five bands with trees. Four made finals and one of them won. And yes, Krispy Kream does sponsor BoA and gave us all free doughnuts.

**Cheerleading** – I was a cheerleader from 4th grade to 8th grade. I quit so I could be in marching band. Unlike Allison, the decision was very easy for me. Most of my band friends don't even know I was a cheerleader for so long. We didn't really have a classic preppy cheerleading squad. Most of those girls don't even cheer anymore and have moved on to other interests like I have. I used it for conflict because I could relate to it.

**Allison McAlister** – This name was the hardest. Allison means beauty and sounds innocent. I choose it because I wanted her to be a naïve girl who didn't really know much about what she was getting herself into by not choosing between cheerleading and marching band.

**Ryan Palmer** – Ryan was supposed to be my nasty section leader. I choose Ryan because it means little prince. It was perfect for my dictator like section leader. I had him fall for Allison only because I thought I needed a little romance in the story.

**Scarlet Jones and Lola Sakole** – Scarlet and Lola were the two girls in the band that kept Allison there. Every girl has a few other girls in her life that mean the world to her and keep her dreaming. Scarlet and Lola represent that spirit.

**Sean and Jimmy O'Sullivan** – I'm not really sure why Sean doesn't have a last name. These two characters, especially Jimmy, are the two goofy guys everyone knows that always have a goofy comment. These two can make you laugh no matter what. Every marching band has a few. These boys are often found in the clarinet, trombone, trumpet, or tuba section. No band is complete without them.

**Andrew Murray and Lily Jackson** – Andrew was just my drum major. He ended up playing a bigger role than I needed him too. Over the years I have noticed drum majors come in all shapes and sizes. Andrew fit the heartthrob, knows-what-he's-doing drum major stereotype. They seemed to be the strongest and I needed a strong drum to lead the band to success. Lily, as gentle as her name, was needed to round out Ryan's character. Every band has a sweet,caring section leader that everyone loves.

**Jake and Leah** – The classic bad guys of the story. Football and cheerleading is always fighting with the marching band.The Marching Band seems to win ever time.

**Jenny** – There is always someone playing on the evil side that doesn't really belong there. Jenny is one of them. And she did come to her senses and join the band at the end anyway.

**It's not about the sets** – Our drill guy did make a point to say "it's not about the sets; it's about the movement between the sets." I've always liked that. My friends and I probably interpreted on way too deep of a level but it worked for the story.

**Algebra** – I hated algebra freshmen year so I thought I'd make Allison hate it too. It doesn't mean anything.

**Frost and George Washington High School** – These names don't mean anything nor are the based off real schools. They are not real schools. I just needed names. My school much like Frost hasn't been open long. The marching wasn't that good until Paris Sketches. It was a while before we got everyone to work together to create a successful band. But in the end we became the band that went behond everyone's wildest dreams.

Every band has a story to tell. This one just happens to be mine. Thank you for reading. I really appreciate all of your comments. I will be posting another story soon called Is Your Band Ready? I hope you will all check that one out too. And remember, no matter how bad it gets, no matter how many people mock your marching band, we are stronger than all of it. All you have to do isdiscover the colors.


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